7 Principles of Community Organizing

By Chuck Warpehoski, Director, Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice

1. Organizing > Activism
Activism is an individual pursuit, when one person takes an action to make a difference. It is a great
thing. But organizing is greater, because organizing gets other people to take action, to work
together, and to build an organization that can make a significant and long-term difference.

2. Organizing is about relationships

To organize people, you need to know them. You need to know who they are, what they care about,
what they are willing to do, and how to get in touch with them. They also need to know you. They
need to know you are sincere, competent, and that you care about them. Therefore, and organizer
is always building and maintaining relationships. An organizer is also always asking people to sign up
so that she can follow up and build that relationship. Finally, since an organizer is building an
organization that is bigger than herself, she is tracking these relationships in a database so that the
organization can ask people to get involved at scale.

3. Meet people where they are, not where you want them to be
As an organizer, you are immersed in an issue. You read all the blog posts. You lay in bed thinking
about it. You talk about it every day.

That’s not true for most of the people you will be organizing. They might eventually get to where
you are, but you need to start where they are. What do they know? What to the care about? What
do they hope for and what do they fear? You find this out through a combination of empathy and
listening.

Don’t be fooled, though, projecting your own insecurities is not the same as empathy. I get caught in
this one sometimes, where my insecurities tell me, “oh, they don’t want to be bothered by me.” But
when I look back at when people have given me the chance to make a real difference, whether by
helping them move or joining in a cause they care about, I’m generally happy to help.

4. An organizer defines success on her own terms and develops a campaign to

advance toward victory
If you do not define victory on your own terms, the opposition will define it for you. “Oh, you want
us to do something about the homeless. Sure. Would you rather we lock ‘em all up, or just drive
them out of town.”

Knowing what success means to you, you can then put together a campaign—a series of varied
activities over time that move you forward toward victory. There are many tools you can use in the
campaign, your job is to pick the ones that move you forward. Rallies, lectures, civil disobedience,
social media actions, etc. can all be great tactics, but they should be selected based on how they
move you forward.
5. Focus on Action--always have something people can DO
Every activity you take should include an ask for people to do something: make a donation, sign up
for a tabling shift, write an email to the Mayor, etc. “Raising awareness” can be a means to your end
in this process, but it is never your end in itself. I am perfectly aware that I need to limit my sweets,
but that awareness did not stop me from eating two desserts yesterday. Awareness that does not
contribute to concrete change in behavior, actions, or relationships is a dead-end.

6. You get action by asking for it

To get people to take action, you have to ask for it, and you have to set that ask up for success. That
means:
 Make it easy to say yes. If you are asking someone to call their Representative, make it easy for
them to say yes. Give them the phone number. Give them a sample script. Maybe even hand
them your phone to make the call. Eliminate every barrier you can that will get in the way of
them saying “yes.”
 Make your ask specific. This is part of making it easy to say yes. Which is easier for you to
process, “Can you help out?” or “Can you volunteer to sell yard signs next Thursday from 10-2 at
the Art Fair Table”
 Ask for fewer things at a time, not more. Too many options can overwhelm people, and rather
than choose between them, they just tune out. Don’t give 20 options, give one. Maybe two. No
more than three.
 Engage the heart. Emotion is more important for motivating action than facts and figures.
 Follow up. We’re all busy, and we sometimes need that reminder to actually follow through on
our best intentions. Polite but persistent follow-up can be the difference between “yes, I’ll make
that call” and actually making the call. What’s more, that personal touch of following up also
deepens the relationship.

7. Diverse and inclusive coalitions are stronger, building it takes work

Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice is founded on the premise that we are more effective when
we work together across our differences to make a difference. Diverse coalitions bring new ideas,
help you reach broader audiences since “like organizes like.” Furthermore, diverse coalitions help
you tap the power of unlikely allies (e.g. Veterans for Peace, Gun Owners for Smart Gun Laws).

But it takes work to create truly diverse and inclusive communities. It’s not enough to say, “our
doors are open to them, but they won’t come to our table.” Sometimes you have to go to them,
knock on their doors, sit at their table, and be willing to change your agenda to meet their needs.

Building diverse coalitions also requires that you respect differences. If you are creating an interfaith
coalition, a Saturday morning activity during the Jewish Sabbath isn’t going to work, for example.

Finally, if your coalition is diverse, you will run into structural power dynamics. For example, often
voices of people of color are marginalized in mainstream society. To create a diverse and inclusive
coalition, then, you need to recognize this dynamic, be attentive to how it affects your work (it will),
and consistently take steps to address it.